Bear Encounters

BEARS are a powerful icon of North American wilderness. They are a large part of what makes our mountain landscape special. Many visitors yearn to see evidence that the great bears still roams free and wild here. For some, just knowing that bears are out there, living their natural lives, is enough. One thing is common to us all: every one of us shares a responsibility for their survival.

Did you know?

- The grizzly bear is an ‘indicator’ species. The health of our great bear population indicates the ability of the regional landscape to support hundreds of other wildlife species as well.

- Although these mountain landscapes may appear huge, they contain a relatively small amount of good bear habitat. (Most of our Rockies are too rocky!)

- The Eastern slopes region of the Canadian Rockies is the most highly developed area in North America where grizzlies still exist.

- The single greatest threat to bears is loss of ‘effective’ habitat. Even in our national parks, available habitat can be made less useful for bears by human activity.